I’m sure it has already been requested but an iphone/android app would be fabulous. Yes, the website is accessible on Safari on my phone, but its a pain to navigate it on the phone (trying to rate a tea, use the slider for time & temp of steeping) is impossible. And I usually have my phone or Kindle Fire on me more than I’m on a regular computer.

I’d like a sticky forum topic for negative trade feedback. Someone would update the first post, and anyone that had problems with people in trades could reply to that topic. Then the main list would be updated by someone who wants to moderate it. For example, the main list could look like this:

No, I don’t think I have any negative feedback, I’m just using myself as an example! The feedbacks don’t have to ban the members from trading, or be taken as fact or law, but just to give a better idea to anyone setting up trades or traveling tea boxes on who might not be so reliable. If many negative feedbacks are stacked up, that would give people a clue. Right now, there isn’t really a way to tell. thanks!

Well, I think I’d rather assume that everyone who trades has positive feedback, until they don’t, so then only the negative feedback would have to be noted. Otherwise, there would be tons of positive feedback and you could never find the negative.

That’s precisely the point. The reason negative feedbacks aren’t allowed in most forum feedback systems is simply because feedback differs on a user by user basis. One user might be a bit annoyed that a user shipped via first class instead of priority mail. Another user might be annoyed that only one serving per sample was swapped where as the other user swapped 1oz of tea per sample. Basically by promoting only positive feedbacks, you can see which users do a lot of trades and those who do a lot of trades won’t get penalized due to one bad experience.

ah, okay. I see your point. If someone does 200 swaps then they will probably have more negative feedback than someone who doesn’t get involved in swaps at all. I’m thinking more along the lines of not mailing out traveling tea boxes or something. All the details could go in the replies to the feedback thread so if it was just an uneven swap or something, you could see that. Then the top post in the thread could have like

TEASIPPER 14 positive + 2 negative

But I think it would just be crowded if positive feedback was included (and also complicated for the moderator.) But if enough negative feedbacks stack up, and not just for uneven trades or something (ie: someone consistently not mailing things out) it would be a big hint.

I think listing just negative feedback would be fine because I severely doubt any users here are really going to give negative feedback because of something like the type of shipping used! There could also be standards for negative feedback i.e. user has to have sent the package out either very late (over 1 month?) OR not at all, or if they lie about the amount, send tea that’s gone bad, etc.

It sounds as if there might be a steepster intervene to ameliorate the exchange composing of guess what, some more tea. I suppose negative feedback on the tea itself would not really warrant sending more of that one though, And not be stultified but where is the button for ‘please send tea samples, athankyou’

Recommendations for teas or users based on ratings by “similar users” (people who have rated teas the same way you have). Taste is so subjective that ratings from users with different taste preferences to yours are useless. I’d like to be able to find and follow users who like the same teas that I do and see what other teas they like.

Great idea. I’ve been making a go at remembering whose comments on teas are similar to mine, or who I think have particularly well-tuned flavor discrimination or even who like the same kind of teas (i.e., score similarly) but it’s hard to do, at least for me, and is very time-consuming. It’d also be a good way to build relationships/deepen our tea appreciation in a less diffuse way, like having a bunch of friends who are into the same kinds of things :)

Oolong cha is quite heavenly, Leaflea, my inclination is towards steeping it a maximum of three times, but others find more is well ‘more better’. I dare say that should you like to post again you search in the broweser on this site for ‘Monkey-picked’ and you’ll find there are at least two to chose from at which point you click on post a review on the top right of the screen, happy teatime. TEArender2Tea